1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for assisting a driver of a vehicle traveling on a road.
2. Description of Related Art
The conventional art describes various methods and systems for assisting a driver of a vehicle.
One example of such a system is described in U.S. 2003/0060936 A1, published Mar. 27, 2003. This system comprises a data acquisition system acquiring data including information on status of a vehicle and information on environment in a field around the vehicle, a controller, and at least one actuator. The controller determines a future environment in the field around the vehicle using the acquired data, for making an operator response plan in response to the determined future environment, which plan prompts the operator to operate the vehicle in a desired manner for the determined future environment. The actuator is coupled to a driver controlled input device to mechanically affect operation of the input device in a manner that prompts, via a haptic input from the driver controlled input device, the driver to operate the vehicle in the desired manner.
Another example of such a system is described in JP2003-063430. This system transmits the relationship between a vehicle and an obstacle in front of the vehicle to a driver of the vehicle via a continuous change in reaction force from an accelerator pedal. In this system, the reaction force varies continuously with different stages of the relationship.
Still another example of such a system is described in JP10-166889. This system alerts a driver by regulating reaction force from an accelerator pedal when a distance to an obstacle becomes shorter than a predetermined value.
These systems are satisfactory to some extent. However, a need remains for a less complicated and less expensive system.
An object of the present invention is to provide a less complicated and less expensive system and method for assisting a driver operating a vehicle traveling on a road.